How Consumers Interact With Brands on Facebook [STUDY]

How Consumers Interact With Brands on Facebook [STUDY]

People interact with their favorite brands on Facebook far more than on any other social network, according to a recent study of online consumer behavior.

The study, conducted by Constant Contact and research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, analyzed the behavior of 1,491 consumers ages 18 and older throughout the United States and revealed a number of details about how people interact with brands on the world’s largest social network.

When it comes to “Liking” brands on Facebook, the reasons are varied, but for the most part, respondents said they “Like” a brand on Facebook because they are a customer (58%) or because they want to receive discounts and promotions (57%).

SEE ALSO: 13 Best Practices for Restaurants on Facebook

Being a fan, for the most part, is a rather passive activity. A whopping 77% of consumers said they interact with brands on Facebook primarily through reading posts and updates from the brands.

A measly 17% of respondents said they interact with brands by sharing experiences and news stories with others about the brand, and only 13% of respondents said they post updates about brands that they Like.

The study also pointed to a number of encouraging stats for businesses, including:

• 56% of consumers said they are more likely to recommend a brand to a friend after becoming a fan on Facebook
• 51% of consumers said they are more likely to buy a product since becoming a fan on Facebook
• 78% of consumers who “Like” brands on Facebook said they “Like” fewer than ten brands

Contrary to another study published in February that stated that 81% of consumers have either “unliked” or removed a company’s posts from their Facebook News Feed, this study reports that 76% of consumers said they have never “unliked” a brand on Facebook.

For brands looking to make the biggest impact on Facebook, it is essential to share compelling content, minimize marketing messages and refrain from overwhelming readers with too frequent updates.

View the complete study here:

10 Quick Facts You Should Know About Consumer Behavior on Facebook

View more presentations from Constant Contact

Read More

15 Case Studies to Get Your Client On Board With Social Media

15 Case Studies to Get Your Client On Board With Social Media

Jonathan Rick is a social media strategist in Arlington, VA. You can follow him on Twitter @jrick and read his blog atJonathanRick.com.

In business, definitions are everywhere. They’re your first line of defense in mission statements, job descriptions, expense accounts, statements of work, accounting principles and the like. If you fail to define the parameters and jurisdiction of a tool or concept, you’ll be left with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s famous but ultimately vague application: “I know it when I see it.”

Understandably, the plague of ambiguous definitions is why a plethora of pundits have sought to corner the elusive term “social media” within the scope of the dictionary. For instance, Booz Allen Hamilton defines the phenomenon as “electronic tools, technologies, and platforms.” Wikipedia prefers to dub social media as “Web-based and mobile technologies.” Finally, Duct Tape Marketing nominates social media as “the use of technology combined with social interaction.” Got all that? If you don’t, your clients surely won’t follow either.

In order to sell the field that everyone is talking about, but on which few can illuminate, we first need to reframe the conversation. Instead of striving for Merriam-Webster precision, social media strategists would do better to focus on case studies.

Specifically, social media strategist Ari Herzog has argued, when you reach for the term “social media,” don’t spew broad buzzwords like Facebook or Twitter or YouTube. Instead:

---

• Narrow your focus to responding to customer complaints, as Comcast does on Twitter.
• Build brand loyalty, as Bisnow does with e-newsletters, as Skittles does on Facebook, and as the Wine Library does with its podcasts.
• Issue blog posts and tweets instead of news releases, as Google does with its blog, and as its now-former CEO did with Twitter.
• Re-purpose your existing content, and thus enlarge your audience, as The New York Times does with Twitter, as the FBI does with Scribd, and as Dell does with SlideShare.
• Manage your reputation, as countless companies do — or try to do — with Wikipedia.
• Conduct crisis communications, as Johnson & Johnson does with its blog.
• Hold contests to improve your algorithms, as Netflix did with the Netflix Prize.
• Crowdsource your challenges, as the U.S. Army did with its field manuals.
• Demonstrate thought leadership, as recruiter Lindsay Olson does with her blog.
• Research free advertising opportunities, as Allstate does on YouTube.
• Showcase your wares, as Zappos does with its blog, and boost your sales, as Dell does on Twitter.
• Recruit employees, as Booz Allen does on LinkedIn.

---

In these contexts, “social media” refers not to platforms, but to what those applications enable: social interaction.

Think of these interactions the next time you confront a reluctant client. Instead of touting Twitter in general, instead emphasize the importance of reaching new and savvy stakeholders using the platform. Instead of evangelizing for a blog, show how blogging can generate leads. Instead of pointing to videos gone viral, explore video tools that will help your client develop a brand identity.

By unpacking social media’s broad definition on a case-by-case basis, you will not only render it familiar to a client, but also present it as something entirely doable.

Read More

101 Marketing Quotes 2011

Leave us a message to receive this e-book

Read More

Half of Parents Say Kids Watch More TV in Summer - Marketing Charts

Half of Parents Say Kids Watch More TV in Summer

Many parents of those 17 or younger and living at home say their children consume various types of media more, including watching television and playing video games, during the summer months, according to a Harris Poll/Adweek survey released today. Almost half of parents say their children consume more television (49%) and video games (46%) in the summer, with a quarter saying their children consume much more of these types of media and entertainment during the summer (23% and 24%).

One in six or less say their children consume less of these types of media in the summer (16% and 13%) while three in ten say the amount consumed is neither more nor less in the summer than at other times of the year (29% and 27%).
Increased television viewing was most prevalent in the South and West regions of the US, where 58% and 52% of parents, respectively, said their children were watching more television. 55% and 53% said video game use was up.

In looking at Internet use and watching movies, the survey found similar results — 44%-45% of parents say that their children do more of these activities in the summer, compared to 13% and 14% who say they do less.

In general, with school out of session, children have more hours to consume media, but their habits may also be influenced by a few changes in the household. Almost six in ten parents say they loosen the rules during the summer, allowing their kids more freedom (57%) to consume various types of media.

One quarter of parents say they do not loosen media consumption rules in the summer (26%) and fewer say that they do not have any rules for their children’s media consumption at all (17%).

While dads and moms are equally likely to loosen (56% vs. 57%) or not loosen (27% vs. 25%) the rules for their children’s media consumption in the summer, there are noticeable differences by region.

The findings are based on responses of 2,950 U.S. adults surveyed online between August 5 and 9, 2011, by Harris Interactive.

Read More

More than Talk: Action in Mobile Marketing

The charts in this collection are ready to use, download, format, and otherwise support your marketing goals. Feel free to share the whole presentation or any slide, with your colleagues and business partners, but please preserve credits to our sponsor, HubSpot, our research partners who provide the source data, and our links to MarketingCharts.com.

“More than Talk: Action in Mobile Marketing ” is part of Watershed Publishing‟s Data Insights series featuring trends, data and research. This collection brings together months of surveys, reports and insights released by nationally recognized research and marketing organizations focused on what is happening with mobile marketing. It is a time saver for the busy marketing professional. 

Gone are the days when talking to someone was the prime reason to use a phone. In fact, if you own a smartphone, chances are you use it far more for things other than calling. 

And that‟s big news for marketers. 

In “More than Talk: Action in Mobile Marketing” MarketingCharts has amassed a quantity of data that is invaluable to companies serious about mobile marketing.

The section on Mobile Growth provides all the proof you need about the rising surge of smartphone users. 

In Mobile Actions you‟ll find out how these consumers are using their smartphones.

But who are these people? In Mobile People you‟ll get the gender, ethnic and generational breakdowns.

And in the last section on Mobile Marketing, you‟ll find out what everyone is spending trying to reach this fast-growing audience. 

There are 53 data slides and accompanying analysis in this eBook, more than enough current data to support your mobile marketing efforts.

Enjoy,

The HubSpot team

Leave me a message to receive this REPORT

Read More

20 Things I Learned about Browsers and the Web

Many  of  us  these  days  depend  on  the  World Wide Web to bring the world’s information to our fingertips, and put us in touch with people and events across the globe instantaneously.

These  powerful  online  experiences  are  possible thanks  to  an  open  web  that  can  be  accessed  by   anyone  through  a  web  browser,  on  any  Internet- connected device in the world.

But  how  do  our  browsers  and  the  web  actually work?  How  has  the  World  Wide  Web  evolved  into  what  we  know  and  love  today?  And  what do  we  need  to  know  to  navigate  the  web  safely and efficiently?

“20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web”  is  a  short  guide  for  anyone  who’s  curious about the basics of browsers and the web. Here’s what you’ll find here:

First  we’ll  look  at  the  Internet,  the  very backbone that allows the web to exist. We’ll also take a look at how the web is used today, through cloud computing and web apps.

Then,  we’ll  introduce  the  building  blocks  of web pages like HTML and JavaScript, and  review how their invention and evolution have changed the  websites  you  visit  every  day.  We’ll  also  take a look at the modern browser  and how it helps users browse the web more  safely and securely.

Finally,   we’ll   look   ahead   to   the   exciting  innovations  in  browsers  and  web  technologies that  we  believe  will  give  us  all  even  faster    and more immersive online experiences in the  future.

Life as citizens of the web can be liberating and  empowering, but also deserves some self-education. Just as we’d want to know various basic  facts  as  citizens  of  our  physical  neighborhoods  —  water safety,  key  services,  local  businesses  —  it’s  increasingly  important to  understand  a  similar  set  of  information  about  our  online  lives. That’s the spirit in which we wrote this  guide. Many of the examples used to illustrate the features and  functionality of the browser often refer back to Chrome, the  open-source browser that we know well. 

We hope you find this guide as enjoyable to read as we did to create.

Happy browsing!

The Google Chrome Team, with many thanks to Christoph Niemann for his illustrations

November 2010

Leave me a message to receive this E-book

Read More

99 Tools to Help You Generate Leads with Social Media

About Jamie Turner and the 60 Second Marketer

Jamie Turner is the Chief Content Officer for BKV’s 60 Second Marketer, an online magazine that provides tools, tips and tutorials for marketers around the globe. 

Jamie has been profiled in the world’s best-selling marketing textbook and is the co-author of How to Make Money with Social Media.

He is also an in-demand Keynote Speaker at events, trade shows and corporations around the globe.

Table of Contents

• A Word from Jamie Turner 4
• The Social Media ROI Cycle 4
• Let’s Dive In 6
• Tools to Help You Manage Your Twitter Account 7
• Tools to Help You Manage Facebook 8
• Tools to Help You Manage Your Websites and Blogs 8
• Tools to Help You Manage Multiple Social Channels 9
• Content Creation and Integration Tools 11
• Qualitative Social Media Monitoring Tools (Sentiment Monitoring) 12
• Quantitative Social Media Monitoring Tools (Tracking and Analytics) 13
• Comprehensive Social Media Monitoring Tools (Quantitative and Qualitative) 15
• Tools to Help You Reverse Append Email Addresses to Find Out More About the Con-tacts in Your Database 16
• Miscellaneous 17
• A Final Word 17

Leave me a message to receive this E-book

Read More

7 Google Tools to Improve Your Marketing Effectiveness

In this document, you will have chances to know and understand about helpful tools of Google can help your marketing effectiveness. Include: Google Adwords, Google Docs, Google Keyword Tool, Google Alerts, Google Reader, Google News, Google Places.

Introduction

Although  Google  serves  as the  go-to  search engine for  many Internet users, there still seems to be a large  unawareness  for its  other tools. Here at HubSpot, we feel it’s important to discuss Google’s various tools as they fit in nicely within the type of marketing we and our customers practice: inbound marketing.

As  you  have  noticed,  traditional  marketing  activities  have  hit  the  back burner,   establishing   a   stale   and   ineffective   method   of   reaching consumers. As a response to this changing environment, we need to shift our focus to attract people who are actively searching for products online. That's where inbound marketing comes in.

Inbound  marketing  accurately conveys  the  challenges  your  consumers are  facing  and  what  types  of  solutions  they  are  looking  for.  It  takes advantage  of  the  way  people  communicate  and  do  research.  We  are using search engines, reading blogs and tapping into our social networks to find answers to questions and make purchase decisions. Companies can  utilize  these  different  channels  to  better  target  their  marketing activities and bring in more sales.

Leave me a message to receive this E-book

Read More

7 Proven Ways to Integrate Social Media on Your Site

Overview

The explosive growth in social media marketing over the past few years has rended scores of carefully crafted corporate websites irrelevant as marketing tools. But don't take our word for it. Just Google it. Analysts, journalists, bloggers and marketing thought-leaders have been singing thi tune for awhile. Jeremiah Owyang started leading the chorus back in 2007 when he was at Forrester Research (he's now at Altimeter Group.). The corporate website is an unbelievable collection of hyperbole, artificial branding, and pro-corporate content, " he said. "As a result, trusted decisions are being made on other locations on the Internet... networks, rating sites, chat rooms, and even blogs."

That may have seemed like a radical notion at the time, but now it seems downright prescient. Today, big brands boast 10-20 million "likers" on their Facebook pages and "f-commerce" (e-commerce on Facebook) is factoring heavily in their future plans. Comcast (Arguably) delivers better customer service on Twitter than customers can get on the phone, leading its CEO to proclaim " It has changed the culture of our company."

YouTube has been the springboard for corporate crises when customers or employees have become disgruntled, but it also helped a geek wit a lab coat and a miniscule marketing budget increase Blendtec's sales by 700 percent nad land an appearance on the Today Show. In fact, viral video can provide such a powerful marketing boost, brands were vying to hire Ted Williams, the homeless guy with a "golden voice", to be their next announcer. His nearly overnight gig for a Kraft Mac & Cheese commercial turned into a feel-good moment that landed the brand on the viral video chart. 

Obviously, social media inspires a whole lot more passion and interaction than the typical corporate website. Connected consumers want to share their opinions, they look to "friends" and subkect matter experts for advice, and their confidence in corporate brand-speak is way down the list. 

It's only natural to speculate whether or not this is " The end of the destination Web era" as Steve Rubel, a VP at Edelman Global, did not long ago. And in that case, must marketers cede a significant part of corporate branding, loyalty and lead-generation to websites they don't own?

Leave me a message to receive this Report

Read More

Facebook Advertising Performance Benchmarks & Insights

Summary

Facebook advertising is predicted to hit US$4 billion this year, which is  twice the volume of 2010 spending according to eMarketer. While brands  are rapidly investing in the space, they lack comparative experience to  assess how well their campaigns are performing. Webtrends has analyzed  over eleven thousand campaigns to provide performance benchmarks  brands can use to evaluate their own campaign performance.

The Webtrends database is a very large sample given the relatively young age of the Facebook ad network  (see the stats at left). We focused on a few key metrics:

• Click-Through Rate (CTR) 

• Cost per Click (CPC)

• Cost per Thousand (CPM)

• Cost per Fan (CPF)

About thiS Report

This report contains analysis of over 11 thousand ads and is intended to provide market reference for Facebook ad performance. It is worth noting that the majority of campaigns we analyzed were focused on fan acquisition, which may skew some of the results. Benchmarks may vary for campaigns aimed at websites or fan nurturing campaigns. We did not have a statistically significant data set for the 13-17 year old market, 

so we excluded them from our results. Industry results were based on categorizing campaigns in our dataset, which means some industries had only a single brand and may not be representative of an industry’s  performance overall. Special thanks to Dennis Yu, Nicholas Davies, Jonny Chan, Michael Girard, and Tim Mather for their contributions to this report. 

Citations 

Facebook Advertisers Boost Spending 10 Fold, COO Says; BusinessWeek;   http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-04/facebook-advertisers-boost-spending-10-fold-coo-says.html; August 2010 

Facebook Drives US Social Network Ad Spending Past $3 Billion in 2011; eMarketer;  http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008180; January 18, 2011 Facebook and Brands survey; DDB & Opinionway; https://ddbworldwide--ropboxaliciabrindak2.pbworks.com/f/DDBOpinionwayFacebookenglishshortversion.pdf; October 18, 2010

About Webtrends

Webtrends is a global leader in social and mobile marketing. Thousands of global organizations, including Microsoft, Reuters, General Mills and Ticketmaster have chosen Webtrends business solutions and client  services expertise to optimize their customers’ online experiences. Webtrends was the first web analytics company, founded over 15 years ago and continues to deliver world class analytics solutions. Webtrends is a registered trademark of Webtrends Inc. in the United  States and other countries. All other trademarks and registered  trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. 

© 2011 Webtrends Inc. All rights reserved.

Leave me a message to receive this Report

Read More